Ayn Rand Institute fellow Don Watkins spoke to the University community yesterday evening about his qualms with the nation's entitlement programs, which include Social Security and Medicare.
In the two-hour long lecture, Watkins sought to answer the question, "What's really wrong with entitlements?" and first explained how he believed the nation progressed from "limited government" to an "entitlement nation."
"It turns out Americans didn't starve in the streets [before entitlement programs,]" Watkins said. "Even I was surprised by how much people thrived in the world without entitlements ... It's not an accident Adam Smith published 'Wealth of Nations' in 1776 and that it was that unleashing of free human minds in markets that led to an explosion of innovation and creativity."
Watkins said entitlement programs were introduced in the Depression-wracked 1930s, then expanded in the 1960s, and resulted in an entitlement state today which we don't need.
"There is no question that today people face hardships, but we live in an incredibly rich county," Watkins said. "The idea that you need an entitlement state for people's needs to be met is not true."
He added the current welfare system is "leading us off the financial cliff and [is] not doing a good job of what it's supposed to be doing in the first place."
Charlottesville resident Eileen Donovan said she is similarly concerned about the future stability of the U.S. government.
"The government has grown exponentially and I am afraid for my grandchildren that things are going to implode," Donovan said. "I'm a strong believer in a safety net, but I'd like to hear what he says about how our entitlement situation got to be the way it is."
Watkins said individuals are unwilling to make the leap to eradicate entitlement programs because they are bound by the nation's morality. Morality is a powerful force, Watkins said, and the nation's moral view demands an entitlement state.
"What's the difference between entitlement and stealing?" Watkins asked the audience, ultimately answering his own question with "One is mandated by morality and one is not."
He said the issue boiled down to a debate about individual liberty.
The University's Students of Objectivism group sponsored the talk. Students of Objectivism President Will Fox, a third-year College student, said Watkins was the club's second speaker this semester.
Watkins has written economic policy issue pieces for the Ayn Rand Institute for the past six years. He currently blogs on Forbes.com.
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